


I've Found a Cause Right Here

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Feels Like Heaven [17]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Drama, Episode: s17e17 Manhattan Transfer, F/M, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 07:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6321325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We’re stones, Liv, standing at the base of Mount Everest.  Its days like this I wonder why I ever left SWAT.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've Found a Cause Right Here

Liv woke with a start and turned to look at the clock. It was 2:47 a.m. and she was in bed alone. Reaching over to feel the other side of the bed, it was cool to the touch. Had Ed left? He never left without letting her know. These days he didn’t leave. 

Liv sat up, turned on the lamp, and squinted against the invasion of light. Ed’s work clothes were still draped across her chair. He couldn’t have gone far without his clothes. She got up and checked the bathroom. The light was off but she checked anyway. 

Then she went out into the living room but he wasn’t there either. Checking the nursery last, Liv saw Noah was sound asleep but he was alone. She sighed and went back into the bedroom. Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, she dialed his cell phone. It vibrated on the dresser so Liv hung up. 

Where was he? And what was he doing? All she could think was that he went to kill Eugene. That was ridiculous but she was still thinking about it. Today did not go well. He attacked his cousin and then Sister Nina went off on them. 

Ed was so angry that she tried to use Noah as a shield. He and Liv had an argument that night that the nun should've never been staying with her in the first place. There were plenty of safe houses all over the five boroughs. Ed didn’t know if he could believe anything Eugene said but if she did have psychological problems the last place she needed to be was alone with a toddler. Especially his girlfriend’s son. 

So his anger about everything else came out that evening. She wouldn’t bite the bait and he eventually calmed down. This case was going to get worse before it got better. Liv wasn’t going to let it eat him alive. Not sure what to do next, she propped up her pillows and rested against them. 

Finally, after some time went by, she heard a key turn in the lock. Her heart began to thump but then she relaxed. Liv opened her nightstand drawer just a bit with the key and touched her Glock. It was there, it was loaded, and she was ready to use it. No one was going to hurt her and her son.

“What are you doing awake?” Ed stood in the doorway as if he were afraid to walk in.

“Where were you?” Liv countered. She closed her drawer and locked it, putting the key next to the lamp. “I woke up and you were gone.”

“I needed a smoke, which turned into three cigarettes and a walk.”

“It’s freezing outside, Ed.”

“Damn right it is. I thought my balls were gonna fall off. Still, I couldn’t sleep and I felt like the walls were closing in on me. This is my fault.”

“I hope you're not talking about the underage prostitution ring.” She said. “It has nothing to do with you, Ed. You're trying to bring those dirty cops down.”

“My own flesh and blood is probably neck deep in this. And it’s my fault Cara is dead because I gave him her name. I handed her right to the wolves. She wouldn’t be dead if I hadn’t talked to Eugene.”

“It’s still the fault of the person who committed the murder, not you. You were investigating and speaking with someone who we thought could help. That’s like saying it’s my fault for asking you to speak to him. I hope you don’t think it’s my fault.”

“Of course it’s not your fault, baby.” Ed shook his head. “It’s not.”

“Come sit down.” She held out her arms. “C'mon, you're probably freezing; come sit with me.”

Ed came into the room and sat down on the bed. He sighed as Olivia wrapped her arms around him. She pressed a kiss to his shoulder blade, putting her chin on his shoulder.

“I was an ass earlier. Just because this entire thing is going south doesn’t mean I take it out on you. I will never take it out on you.”

“It’s a difficult situation.” Liv stroked his hair. “I know your heart is in the right place and I know how difficult your job is, Ed.”

“I don’t yell at you because my job is stressful.” He covered her hands with his, glancing back at her. “I'm sorry and I'm gonna make sure it doesn’t happen again. I should've walked it off.”

“Nina should've never been here. You were right, even if you did yell about it. She's gone and I'm worried about her but that doesn’t mean she needed to be anywhere near Noah. I made the wrong decision based on emotions and it could've gone bad.”

“He's fine, and we’re gonna work hard to find Nina. Not that she wants anything to do with me. She thinks I'm as horrible as my cousin.”

“Ed, do you really think your cousin is pimping teenage girls to corrupt cops and government officials?”

He didn’t want to think that. Ed had known Eugene his entire life and they spent so many summers running the streets of Brooklyn. It was what made Ed decide on John Jay in the end; he wanted to be near family while also being on his own. He was in college while Eugene was in seminary school. Their lives hit a fork in the road and they went in separate directions. 

Ed was never a godly person. He lost his mother at a young age and though he wasn’t bitter he surely didn’t think there was a God who could let that happen to him and his brother and even his sister who died. Eugene was pious and wanted to spend his life serving that God. Ed never judged him for it. They just didn’t have much in common anymore.

“I do.” he nodded. “I've never been fond of the church and their record where kids are concerned is extremely tarnished. Pedophiles to pimps…it’s not a big leap. This time they get the money and the jollies. Sons of bitches.”

“We’re going to get them.” Liv was firm.

“We’re stones, Liv, standing at the base of Mount Everest. Its days like this I wonder why I ever left SWAT.”

“You're doing a job that not many people have the balls to do. I may have given you flack for it in the past, I own that, but now I see. I've seen for some time. I know it’s hard…I've got your back. I love you.”

“I love you too. We’re about to run into an inferno, baby.” Ed sighed and held her hand tight.

“We’ll do it together and never let go.”

“How in the hell did I get so lucky?”

“Good question. When you figure it out, let me know.”

Ed smirked. He turned and kissed her lips. Liv caressed his face, pressing her forehead on his.

“We both need to get some sleep. Morning will be here too soon.”

“I'm sorry I just left without telling you.” Ed said as he made his way back under the covers. “I needed some air and I thought you would sleep through it.”

“Maybe I've gotten used to sleeping beside you.” Liv said as she put her pillows down on the mattress. She moved into his arms, using his shoulder as a pillow. It wasn’t as soft but it was more comforting.

“That’s not something that I want to take away from you anytime soon.” He kissed her forehead. “I got your back too, Olivia. That a promise.”

Liv smiled as she turned out the lamp. There really wasn’t much to smile about these days. This investigation wasn’t going to be pretty. Powerful people wanted to protect themselves and they didn’t care who they had to bury to make that happen. These girls were in danger; Liv felt her squad might be in danger. 

Even Ed was in danger. All she could do was keep hitting the door with a battering ram until it splintered. Eugene was certainly a piece of the puzzle but Liv didn’t know how big. She knew Ed wouldn’t stop until he found out. And he wasn’t going to take it easy on him because he was family. 

Ed Tucker lived by a code…he worked by a code. No one was above the law, not even the law. Over recent years he had managed to see more shades of gray than at any other time in his career but this case didn’t have any. There were clear good guys, clear bad guys, and clear victims. Ed knew who to go after and wouldn’t stop until they were all facing justice. 

Olivia felt the same way. That made them both targets. The problem was they didn’t know where the hit might come from. She swore to herself as she put her hand over his heart and tried to sleep that if they went down then they would do it together. Nothing else was acceptable to her anymore.

***


End file.
